Yassassin Knowpia

"Yassassin"
"Yassassin"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Lodger
B-side	"Repetition" (Netherlands); "Red Money" (Turkey);
Released	July 1979 (Netherlands)
Recorded	Mountain, Montreux, September 1978; Record Plant, New York City, March 1979
Length	3:06 (single version); 4:10 (album version)
Label	RCA; PB-9417 (Netherlands); 79.014 (Turkey)
Songwriter(s)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	David Bowie; Tony Visconti;
David Bowie singles chronology

"Yassassin" (Bowie's pronunciation /jɑːˈsɑːsɪn/; also known as "Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Live)", and released in Turkey as "Yassassin (Yaşasın)") is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the 1979 album Lodger. "Yassassin" is an incongruous reggae song with a Turkish flavour.^[2]

The title of the song is derived from the Turkish verb used to wish someone a long life, spelled yaşasın (pronounced [jaʃaˈsɯn]), from the verbal root yaşa- 'live' with the third-person imperative ending; therefore yaşasın literally means 'may he/she live'.

"Yassassin" was released as the third single from Lodger, but only in the Netherlands and Turkey. The Dutch single edit of the song was included on Re:Call 3, part of the A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) compilation (2017).^[3]

Track listing edit

RCA PB-9417 (Netherlands) edit

"Yassassin" (David Bowie) – 3:06
"Repetition" (Bowie) – 2:58

RCA 79.014 (Turkey) edit

"Yassassin" (Bowie)
"Red Money" (Bowie, Carlos Alomar)

Personnel edit

According to Chris O'Leary:^[4]

David Bowie – lead and background vocals, synthesiser
Carlos Alomar – lead guitar, background vocals
Tony Visconti – rhythm guitar, background vocals
George Murray – bass, background vocals
Simon House – violin, background vocals
Dennis Davis – drums, tambourine, background vocals

Technical

David Bowie – producer
Tony Visconti – producer

Cover versions edit

The song was covered by new wave band Litfiba in 1984.^[5]
American indie rock band Shearwater performed a version of the song in May 2016 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series,^[6] and again as part of a live performance of the entire Berlin Trilogy for WNYC in 2018.^[7]

References edit

^ Nicholas Pegg (2016). The Complete David Bowie: p.318
^ "David Bowie Yassassin (1979) Only in the Netherlands and Turkey". David Bowie World. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
^ "A NEW CAREER IN A NEW TOWN (1977–1982) – David Bowie Latest News". DavidBowie.com. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^ O'Leary 2019, chap. 3.
^ "Litfiba - Yassassin". Discogs. 30 August 1984. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
^ Meiburg, Jonathan (13 May 2016). "Shearwater covers the entirety of David Bowie's Lodger". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
^ Dorris, Jesse (23 October 2018). "A Surprising Tribute to David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy, Played in a Manhattan Mall". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.